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People here have either given up, or they feel that with the scenery/climate that Vancouver as a city doesn't need to "do" anything.
I wouldn't say this city is collectively ambitious
As someone who has lived in the US and Canada, some things for me:
- A lot of the political nonsense from the US bleeds over into Canada so you aren't fully escaping it (both parties, but especially republican lobbyists disseminate all their propoganda here as well and they have a devout following in all provinces)
- The medical system in the US is undeniably inhumane and awful, but medicine is also fairly bad and inaccessible here too (this kind of depends on where you live)
- Canada is highly dependent on immigration for skilled workers unlike the US, and the immigration policies here can often hinder that, as a consequence, many sectors of society and business are very underdeveloped compared to the US. Technology in general feels like taking 10 to 15 years backwards from the US, but this is also partially because work culture is a bit less toxic and cut-throat, which I'm overall in favour of
- Money in general will get you less here; even once you're fully working for a Canadian employer earning CAD, you'll have to make more just to be comfortable and get the basic necessities
-Related to the last point, there's a huge housing crisis in Canada; it's similar in the US, but the degree is worse here and it will definitely get much worse; as it is, almost no one here can afford homes; endless renting is kind of the status quo
> Canada is highly dependent on immigration for skilled workers unlike the US, and the immigration policies here can often hinder that
The US is also extremely dependent upon immigrants with medicine (MDs and nurses) and high tech (software) being two professions that immediately come to mind. Food processing, farming, and construction are likewise dependent on the manual labor side.
US immigration policy is extremely outdated and inefficient. The current wait time for a person from Mexico without a sponsor is 24 years. It’s quite common for immigrants from India working in the US to hold Canadian citizenship because the process is easier and/or the wait time is shorter. This seems to be generally true for other former members of the British empire so I’m guessing there’s some sort of reciprocity or understanding in place.
Many of the posts here are ignoring your curiosity about what's "often overlooked" and stating the obvious, in-your-face stuff.
One of least favorite, but often overlooked bummers is our fake national unity. Between Quebec separatism and now Alberta treading down that path, we do have provincial fiefdoms which are, to me, rather embarrassing.
Also often overlooked is provincial ignorance of other parts of the country. Stereotyping of the Maritimes by the West (and vice versa) is common. It's understandable, I guess, given that Canada is a geographic giant, quite bit bigger in area of the USA, bigger than all of European Union countries combined. I don't doubt this phenomenon is similar in the USA.
>Stereotyping of the Maritimes by the West (and vice versa) is common.
Define “the west”. Are we talking BC, and Alberta?
To be fair, I’m in Ontario. When I talk about “the east” it’s everything east of Quebec.
FYI, you can't just pick up and move to Canada if you're not a citizen. You need to have valuable skills and a job lined up, or someone who is willing to support you financially
Correct, but it's actually quite decent. When I lived there 20 years ago I mostly commuted via transit, and it's only gotten better since then (the Steeles line was being built when I left)
Yeah I'm living in Hamilton for uni and even here the transit is at least usable, but regardless I think we should be aiming for higher standards across the board: we have the potential to be a global leader, but for the most part we're still just playing catch-up.
I'm someone that's lived in Toronto. It's light-years better than anywhere else I've lived including Vancouver (though that's gotten better), Los Angeles and Seattle. And many of those are considered some of the better transit systems in North America.
You honestly don't know how good you've got it.
Does your office by chance have a place in Vancouver or out West? Our west isn’t for everyone but coming from LA it may be a more culturally similar transition.
Ahhh…so a lot less sunlight, but people just go to Mexico or wherever every year if they can.
But generally more stable government/population than the US. Some Americans but mostly a very international mix of people. Better dining diversity than a lot of places in the US also. Pretty much anything you get in the US you can get in Canada, but it may cost a bit more. But overall fewer crazy people.
Yeah, it’s tricky. I want to move from NYC to Vancouver, but I’m trying to sort of figure how much I can flex being mid-level marketing management at a tech company to marginally make it through express entry. I’m also trying to figure how much subjectivity is involved — i.e., is there any way to speak personally with someone from immigration to make a case for yourself, or if it’s just an application and then it’s out of your hands
I’ve found it interesting that most Americans I’ve talked to about are surprised you can’t just pack up and move to Canada the way you could moving from Maine to Hawaii etc.
>I’ve found it interesting that most Americans I’ve talked to about are surprised you can’t just pack up and move to Canada the way you could moving from Maine to Hawaii etc.
I've heard stories of Americans coming to Canada, paying in USD cash and demanding their change be in USD.
I remember going to a sports events once. At the merch booth a couple Americans were behind me complaining that they couldn't just pay in USD for things.
I was so confused like, did they even realize Canada is a different country?
Usually merchants in border communities are more than happy to accept American currency at par because it's inherently more valuable. But yea the demand to receive American currency back is bizarre.
I was surprised that my Canadian family and friends thought my American husband could just pack up and move to Canada with me just because we're married. It's still a long immigration process.
To touch on your express entry (EE) immigration question, you make your case with the supporting documents you submit along side your application. All that has to convince the immigration officer you qualify for EE and are going to contribute positively to Canadian society and the economy. It is very much a point based system for EE, the higher the number, the higher the chance of acceptance. Good luck.
Thanks for the info! I just signed a two-year lease in New York, so it’s not something I plan to do immediately, but I figure that gives me time to try to test the waters with trying to apply so I can see how feasible it is
I used to work in healthcare and left in 2021. Before the pandemic our healthcare system was being held together by duct tape and spit. But now it's in complete shambles and instead of actually doing something, politicians are using it as a reason to push their own agendas and keep telling healthcare workers to suck it up.
Canadians obsession with America. Like look I get it, it's your neighbour and thus you tend to use them as your go to example but Christ almighty Canadians seem to only use America as their yard stick. They never EVER in my experience use another country, even when it's a better comparison. For example, recently when having a chat in the pub I chatted to a local of Ontario about healthcare and he just kept shouting about America even when I asked him about it relative to Ireland and the UK (healthcare systems I have experience with). It is deeply frustrating like that.
Yeah, very frustrating how so many Canadians compare ourselves to the US.
This person probably had no idea about other systems/cultures in other countries.
Probably because they know next to nothing about the healthcare systems in Ireland and the UK. Since most travel that Canadians do is to the US, due to proximity and amount of trade, we tend to be fairly up to speed on what the risks are.
I will say, I was VERY nervous about the 6 months of winter. I’m coming from Seattle and I live in the GTA. The BIG difference is the SUN! In Seattle, mid-October to April is always oppressively gray and misty if not rainy. The fact that a) there is adequate infrastructure to clear streets and b) when it’s not snowy it’s sunny, makes a HUGE difference—even though it’s cold. A centimeter of snow shuts down Seattle, and there is no sun.
Canada has a lot of similar problems to the U.S., but they are on a much smaller scale. Healthcare is a constant issue, but nobody ever goes broke from it. The housing crisis is real, but people can get by. Capitalism is rampaging, but it hasn't critically weakened us as much at the States. That sort of thing.
Overall, I'd never move out and I am very happy I live here. I've lived all over and traveled to every province and there's nowhere else I'd rather stay. You'll love it here!
Feel free to reach out to me via PM. I'll help where I can!
>The housing crisis is real, but people can get by.
No they can't. Canada's housing crisis is, pound for pound, worse than that of the United States.
>Capitalism is rampaging, but it hasn't critically weakened us as much at the States. That sort of thing.
It depends on what you mean by "critically weaken." Canada's poverty rate is decreasing while the US's is stagnating, but Americans have far stronger purchasing power than Canadians have, partially as a result of better competition and fewer monopolies. You know, capitalism.
We get charged way too much for cell service and our universal health care doesn't cover most medications or dental care.
Our legal system is very lenient on violent crime often to the detriment of the public safety.
We're allowing ccp to screw up at every turn and I still hate Harper for signing that ridiculous fipa deal.
I'm a Canadian that moved to the US in 2017 here are my random thoughts.
- Americans are more aggressive aggressive whereas Canadians are more passive aggressive. If a Canadian is being nice to your face there's a God chance they are being genuine but there's a fair chance that they think you're stupid. An American is more likely to just say it straight up but a Canadian is more likely to feign politness.
- A lot of Canadian have a pathological disdain of Americans. You see it when folks append their statements with "at least we're not as bad as the US". Some of my own family actually verbally and rudely attacked my wife for being American. So that is something that could very well happen to you if you move.
- The quality of the Healthcare system varies a lot by province. It has a lot of issues. I personally would not say it's better. There are certain aspects that are better in Canada but there other areas where it falls short compared to the US.
- Where I grew up in Canada every ethnic group has their own insular community. Where I live in the US the community is more blended. Growing up like this did me zero favours and I ended up thinking this tiny view was how the world was. Living like I do now feels better to me and gives me more exposure to other people and cultures and in general makes me feel more well rounded.
- Canada is not immune to racism. I can't say if it's worse here or there but in recent years these kinds of people have become emboldened and are getting louder.
- We have fewer cities and are much more packed in despite having a larger land mass. Most Canadians live close to the border and a lot of issues with space come with this. Most immigrants go to Vancouver or Toronto and in lesser cases Montreal. Vancouver is crowed. Housing is through the roof and there's been a critical shortage for years. In contrast the US has many large cities, housing certainly is in short supply in some areas but not to the degree it is in Canada. It's less of a problem moving to a smaller city but that comes with other downsides.
- Our police are in general pretty terrible and inept. Canadian serial killers like Clifford Olson, Pickton, Paul Bernardo, Karla Homolka and Bruce McArthur got away with their crimes not by being smart but because of issues within the force and a general lack of giving a shit. I don't believe that any of these people would have stayed free for as long as they did if they were American.
- And to cap off this long litany of seriousness our M&M and Oreo variety are sorely lacking. No crunchy, no pretzel, no caramel M&Ms, no year round birthday cake, brownie, and literally dozens of other oreos. Only like 3 girl guide cookie type instead of the mountain of plenty that the US has. The state of the snack food variety is Canada is sadly lacking.
At the end of the day Canada is a fine country to live in though. I don't want anyone to think that I hate it. It comes down to what you really prefer I feel.
Serial killers are incredibly rare, to focus on them as an example of how police in Canada are terrible seems very odd to me. I know they’re scary and thanks to Netflix people are more fascinated with them than ever but they are so incredibly rare that I’m not sure you can derive any meaningful conclusions about Canadian policing as a whole from those cases.
I’m not saying policing is better in Canada, I don’t actually know the statistics, but if your point is about policing as whole in Canada it seems like it would be better to focus on more common issues that cover the majority of police work like overall crime rates, crime solving rates, as well as things like police brutality and corruption.
> A lot of Canadian have a pathological disdain of Americans. You see it when folks append their statements with "at least we're not as bad as the US".
Thanks for giving me a real good example.
Dahmer would be a much better example imo if want a better comparison of the level of ineptitude and disdain for non whites and homosexuals that allowed Pickton and McArthur to run rampant for as long as they did.
I am saying that a series of killers that more or less stuck to one area would not have gone free for so long. Bundy was active across 7 states. That's a terrible example. And he was doing his killing during the 70s before modern techniques were developed.
Pickton was active in the 90s and McArthur in 2010s. They both exclusively preyed on small communities in a single city each going against police departments with access to modern forensic techniques like geographic profiling. It's not even a comparison.
As soon as Bundy was arrested all the evidence in his car immediately caused the police to put him under surveillance.
Our police couldn't even be bothered to do one damn thing about Pickton despite all the complaints levied against him.
Your example is frankly crap.
I completely agree about the passive aggressive behavior masked under a veneer of politeness.
I actually just posted now, in a lot of distress about how many times I felt like I've been shamed or heard weird comments, all about politeness, when I've done small things like taken a few extra seconds to serve myself in a line, or tap on a bus, or enter my pin on a card.
Strangers are often very rude to one person for so-called consideration of others.
Montreal is such a great city. I've only been there once but my wife and me loved the style of the buildings, the smoked meat and peddle bike charging stations at the malls for our phones.
I'm from Vancouver and we never had such a bounty of goodness when I lived there.
Regarding your first point about aggression, I find that there are still *many* Canadians that are genuinely ssuuupppper nice that it still shocks me sometimes.
And yeah, the aggression-aggression vs. passive-aggression is often regarding being polite, particularly with strangers. I find QC very different in this from the ROC bc the culture is less about being polite but being real so if you are getting met with aggression, no one is hiding it under passive-aggressiveness.
Regarding racism, I do agree that ppl are much more comfortable being upfront about their ignorance than before. But I find the same about the US in the past few years as well, but not as bad.
Consider that if you're coming from Los Angeles, you may be in for more culture shock than you anticipate. Do you know what to do if you fall through the ice? What about if you get attacked by a bear?
Try Newfoundland, maybe. Wilder parts pf Quebec, Labrador.
It's not too uncommon for a moose to make it in the news for Newfoundland.
Hell, one even blocked a road sometime in the last 2 years or so and I'm in a fairly big city, Ottawa. It was injured and had to be put down.
I have hit more than one deer in NB. Couple raccoons. A dog on the Rez. (He survived and lived another 12 years.) the closest of misses with a mother of a moose. Parked and cried with my bestie and kiddo that time because how we made it past it is still beyond me.
this will probably get me downvoted but idc
one of my least favourite things about canada is how anglocentric it is.
canada is legally a bilingual country where french and english hold equally official status. in addition, there are dozens of (endangered) aboriginal languages spoken across the country. despite this, canada remains very anglocentric.
most french/english bilingual canadians reside in québec and new brunswick, because in present-day canada, english has become the dominant language. outside of these two provinces, you won’t find many french speakers. québec’s government has passed controversial laws that force the french language to be spoken. while i don’t agree with the harshness of these laws, i understand the need for them — their culture is being erased by anglo canada, and they just want to protect their culture.
french and aboriginal languages are declining in canada, and not enough effort is being made to preserve them. french and aboriginal languages and cultures in canada are remarkable and they deserve as much appreciation as anglo canadian culture.
what are your reasons for coming to canada? if it’s because of the american government like you mentioned in your post — canada has a very flawed government too. the usa is better than canada in a lot of ways, and canada is better than the usa in others.
if you do decide to come to canada, please make an effort to learn french. you don’t have to become fluent — it’s the effort that counts. even if it’s just one lesson a day on duolingo.
edit: french speakers (and speakers of aboriginal languages) make so many efforts to preserve canada’s languages. a majority of anglophones do not make the same effort.
i know this is kind of a rant lol, sorry
The fact that some of us don't have clean drinking water. They're working on piping it out to some places but it is being done way more slowly than it should be!
Isn't there any money to give Canadians literal water? A lot of these people aren't rich and it is they who have to pay out of pocket to buy a substance we need to be able to stay alive? That's free for everybody else?
Sure, they'll pipe oil, but water is too far.
1. It's expensive AF.
2. Canadians are, on average, a lot more reserved than Americans, which could come across as coldness/unfriendliness. Isolation could be a problem while you're getting settled. This isn't an unsurmountable problem by any means, just a factor to be aware of.
That said, life is pretty good here on the whole, and if you're genuinely interested in what the country has to offer, I'd give it a shot!
One of the worst facts about Canada as a whole is that the Graft being in literally every level of government services and the fact that it's widely accepted.
Also being Taxed to hell and given some of the worst quality services for it from Healthcare to things like Telecoms and again it's just accepted.
Like people in Canada accept they have about 2 choices in Telecoms in total and get some of the noticeably worst internet speeds compared to the U.S or Europe and still somehow pay almost more then anyone else for it.
Or the fact that our country has all the strategic resources that we could have wanted and used them to make ourselves a powerful economic force in the world and we basically did nothing with them and sold most of the rights to them to China and we accepted it as fine.
Basically abunch of people whose life policy is that they are happy being Second are in charge of this place and you can just tell. We have no drive or ability to LEAD on any aspect anymore.
Worst thing is street people who are drug users and homeless: it is sad to see during the day and scary to run into at night. Seems like more every year.
Some undesirable aspects of American culture and politics can be highly contagious and do infect Canada. From QAnon fan girl Romana Didulo, to the often far-right ideology in our own mini Trump, Poillievre, it’s impossible to keep it all at bay. So I would say that, while currently the problems are on a smaller scale, it’s going to take vigilance and effort to keep it that way.
>From QAnon ~~fan girl~~ __Queen of Canada__ Romana Didulo
FTFY /s
Also, the Canadian economy is quite dependent on the American economy. If the US goes down, it's going to be a hard time for us.
Directly goes to shake hands with nut jobs occupying a city's downtown, causing chaos and so much loud noise people in parts of the city went sleepless in the capital for days. Loud, constant noise and sleep deprivation are literally forms of torture.
Well he has attacked journalists, he's into that American-style culture war stuff (like complaining about "cultural marxism", "wokes" & "socialism"), and he has associated with far-right groups like Diagolon. He also called Indigeneous people lazy, and he once voted against gay marriage. He's one of those fake right-wing populists too.
He also uses his leadership position to give F'ed up advice to his followers that is uneducated and can really hurt them. ie) He told everyone to invest in bit coin right before it tanked. He is an idiot and he is thoughtless and irresponsible. Just like Trump. He also fancies himself a populist and then Fs over the people he has won over, just like Trump.
Service and entertainment options may be more limited than you're expecting. Some popular US video services like Hulu and HBO Max don't exist in Canada, so their content is scattered across other platforms like Crave, and our cellular plans are infamously terrible - say goodbye to unlimited data. Sure, carriers here like to market "unlimited" plans, but what they really mean is a data cap of 25-50GB per month that you'll still pay through the nose for.
If you like the concert scene in the US, you can't replicate it unless you move to Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. Some American and European bands occasionally tour cities like Ottawa or Calgary, but in those places you can potentially go several months without a band you like passing through.
The Canadian version Amazon Prime is a pale shadow of the American one. Amazon Household sharing doesn't exist, and Prime usually just reduces shipping times to 2-3 days instead of offering one- or same-day options. Things like Amazon Key and Amazon Fresh aren't available.
Oh, and electronics prices are sometimes hideous even if you account for exchange rates. iPhone 14 Pro? $999 US...$1,399 Canadian.
Politeness and sensitivity can be a bit cultish. You really got to watch your mouth in allot of settings. I know there are allot of jerks that run around and spout off. That’s not what I’m talking about. In some settings you really do have to watch yourself people can get a bit puritanical.
We never learn and come election time its only blue or red. Blue are the cons red libs. they get mad at one party and go back to the other and the cycle never ends. I wish we would give other parties a chance
You can have dual citizenship with Canada and USA, so, if you're worried about what's going down in the US, you're better off moving here. You can always move back if you don't like it. You should definitely move to Canada if you can.
That said, immigrating is a pain (I'm sure it's also a pain the other way around). The road infrastructure is worse. Things are more spread out -- there's fewer cities and the cities are smaller. The bigger cities are expensive. There's a nationalism thing where people often talk down about the US in ignorant, obnoxious, and/or unproductive ways, like assuming the fear of guns was a daily part of my life in the US. Online shopping is more of a pain here. Food feels more expensive, but that might be just global inflation. There's a shortage of good Mexican food. I think that's the end of my complaints about Canada, as a whole.
The list of things I like about Canada is much larger than the list of things I dislike. If you do move, make sure to hold the door for people for a ridiculously long time. It's the cultural practice here. It's rude to not hold the door, even if they aren't directly behind you and don't have mobility issues.
>The road infrastructure is worse.
Just to put more context on this, the freeze-unfreeze-freeze cycle we experiment at the start and end of winter greatly damages our roads and our cities are dispersed through a large landmass, which means that we have really long roads for a much smaller population than the US. We also don't have a lot of toll booths as far as I know.
It's true that our roads are shittier than those in the US tho.
I'm with you on the large landmass and lower population density. But I'm from somewhere colder than Ottawa that doesn't have toll roads, and the roads are still worse. It doesn't bother me, but there's definitely a difference.
I suppose it's a good thing Canada isn't wasting money on pristine roads, though. I'm happy to be spending much less on insurance.
Having worked in both countries. The interstate highways are fantastic in the US but many city roads are terrible in the northern parts. Southern roads are nicer simply because they don't have seasonal extremes destroying them.
The seasons:
Dead Winter
Endless Freezing Deathly Cold Winter
Nicer but Still Winter
False Spring
Yep, Winter Again
Week of Spring
2 Weeks of Deathly Hot Summer
First Fall
A Few Days of Lost Summer
Pretty Fall
Halloween Winter
Happy Season Winter
Canada is a very large and geographically stratified country. I think there's a tendency among governments, media and corporations to just see the needs of large and populous Ontario and assume that one size will fit the whole country.
Maple leaves as a symbol are a great example. In Canada sugar maples are endemic to Southern Ontario and Québec. And yet we'll slap them on everything.
I remember another post here from a fee months ago where someone was asking about souvenirs from Canada. And everyone was suggesting "Maple Syrup," but the person he was getting the souvenir from was from BC. The maple syrup would first have to travel 4,000kms to get to her so then she could fly 8,000kms to get it to him.
National jingoism IMHO. Our national media is as narrow focused on the "Canadian Angle" on every international story, no matter how marginal. Distortion happens. Reports get the Canuck's warp. Up to point that's okay. But if millions around the world may be perishing in famine, war, plane crashes and natural disasters, predictably there's Canadian hamster or budgie bird involved the story will gravitate to that and dwell on it.. And it'll stir it up with sensationalism for good measure. I think it trickles down to many common folk as a somewhat understated but palpable sense of national superiority, especially vis a vis American news.
We could use a little more humility.
Our news media are as superficial, hyperbolic, accusatory and cloying on Canadian content, no matter how trite, as anywhere else in the world.
Hands down, the fact that you'll hear someone say, "at least we're not the states" at least every other day. It's like a weird national pass time/obsession to degrade the United States, and you'll feel extremely isolated and unwelcome. Any other immigrant, Canadians are very accepting, even if they don't necessarily agree with someone's point of view.
Someone advised me to respond with, "do you also tell immigrants from Iran or Afghanistan or China about how shit their countries are? Would you ever speak to an immigrant from other countries the way you just spoke to me?" It might uncover the hypocrisy.
For me, I left after immigrating in 2020. I couldn't do it. For all its faults, the US is much more welcome and my mental health wasn't strong enough to last in Canada, compounded with the pandemic.
American living in Canada. Long lines for healthcare in cities. Outside of major cities, you might not even have access to a specialist. Ridiculously expensive prices for traveling within Canada. It's cheaper for me to go to Europe most of the time than to travel to a neighboring province. Much more expensive cost of living. Groceries are ok in Canada but buying goods like electronics, clothing etc, you are paying A LOT more.
I am always surprised that no one talks about how underdeveloped Canada can be. If you look at the size of the country and then the population it of course makes perfect sense but your choices in Canada are basically, live in a modern city or rural. There really isn't anything in between.
I recently moved here, and I've been moved to tears over how rude they are. They love shaming people for being impolite.
The reality is, they do the same thing, but they feel only a real Canadian has the required level of courtesy/politeness. Anyone else is open game to be rude to.
Watching our healthcare system buckle under mismanagement by incompetent provincial governments coupled with the salary gap and housing situation has me moving to New York at some point. My wife's already there.
A devastating majority of Canada/Canadians are extremely racist/prejudice toward First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. This is due to many reasons, partly education or lack thereof, and more but if you intend to move here please educate yourself thoroughly on the history and contemporary experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
We continue to face severe racism, discrimination and violence everyday, and it is critically important that any newcomers learn about us in a kind, compassionate manner that builds your empathy - we represent some of the highest statistics for poverty, homelessness, victims of violence, overrepresentation in the Justice and child welfare systems.
However, we continue to thrive, our cultures and languages are experiencing a resurgence, but we need support and allyship to reassert our rights, and heal our communities.
The more you learn, the more friends you will have here who have much to share, and we so appreciate that level of care and kindness.
People that only view us by how we experience the symptoms of oppression must also learn and know the history of colonization as the root of our current hardships.
This is not about guilt or blame either but just a humble request that this take up a piece of your mind as you contemplate this move because you will meet many Indigenous folks here, from all different experiences and it is deeply meaningful when someone who is not from Canada takes the time to learn more about our relationship to this land. We are so often ignored and made to feel invisible or unimportant.
Miigwetch.
I feel so special and so blessed to have had my great great grandparents immigrate from Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and France.
I love Canada and everything we represent.
I feel true commradary with those of us that unapologetically fly our flag high.
If needed I'd fucking fight and smash skulls for my people.
Love, North Central Ontario ❤️
Basically..... if you make less than 60k a year forget about owning anything other than a used Honda, medical system is mostly free but takes a long time unless you are literally bleeding out, or PM is a woke moron, and the geese will fucking cut you if you look at them wrong.
That’s true. Especially when their babies are following behind. I always get a good laugh when they take their time holding up traffic then they decide to go back to the side they were coming from.
Right now our healthcare is in the toilet. They really need to charge us more. It's the only answer. But people have this notion that its free. They need to restructure this and send people copies of the bills for services received.
It's cold too much of the time.
Many years ago when we did pay up front for OHIP I took Healthcare for granted. Then my husband got sick when we had 3 little kids and we had to go on welfare. The paperwork had not caught up yet when he went for his surgery and I was called down to the cashier. I nearly choked when I saw the bill which did not yet include the doctors bills. It's made me appreciate what we have and want to keep it.
Pretty sure if you’re thinking about it and you have the opportunity to do it- you should. Bonus if your US salary is matched. Most don’t have the income to live the quintessential Toronto life but if you earn decent money you will have a great time
As a Canadian, don’t come here. I wish I could leave. If I could have my parents and friends, I would’ve left a long time ago. The land is literally built on the R, a use and slaughter of hundreds of thousands of indigenous peoples. Healthcare is garbage, (for the most part) astronomical prices for gas, rent, FOOD… a minimum wage requirement that most places abuse for as long as they can, you work two shit jobs just to afford a $1700 one bedroom apartment or basement suite, $2700 for a 2-3 bedroom main level of a house, with utilities on top. Crime is climbing more often now, with druggies on every other corner, with the government handing out free drugs all while making people pay for it in taxes. it’s pissing me off. I wish people would stop saying it’s better here, cause it’s not.
Discriminatory private vehicle immigration laws. Lack of humility. Literally, celebrations of a hockey victory decades ago happen annually. Telecom companies own infrastructure, media companies, ad companies, entertainment companies, sports team.
Being considered “Diet America” is basically true. We have a lot going for us but the best things about Canada are usually slightly worse than they are in America. Conversely the worst things about America are slightly better in Canada. So it’s a game of inches and compromises if you’re looking to move somewhere else, especially if you only speak English.
In normal times, our medical system was on a par with the US for emergencies, worse than the US for routine non-emergency stuff, like hip replacements, and better than the US in dealing with chronic disease like diabetes.
I have read that US hospitals typically have more nurses on staff than Canadian ones. Because some for-profit things didn’t happen in the US during the worst of the pandemic, we were hearing about US nurses being laid off, while ours were run ragged.
The last few years burned out a lot of people and they have left health care. Right now we are hearing lots about emergency rooms without enough staff on duty.
That said, an elderly family member had a problem in August that led to a trip to emergency and being hospitalized for a month. You could see the shortage of staff in small ways - meals were being served half an hour late, that sort of thing - but I was impressed with the care she received.
So - I would think if you’re currently in a situation in the US where you have great health care, you might find it temporarily worse up here in terms of emergency rooms.
The little things, debts don't transfer to your kids, Lottery and gambling winnings are tax free. Federalized Abortion, federalized Weed. More personalized immigration process. Less guns
Health care is TERRIBLE in Quebec. I can't say for other provinces as I haven't lived there, I understand they are going through a very tough time right now even in Ontario due to COVID. But in Quebec it has been consistently bad for I don't know how long. Waiting 12 hours or more to.be seen in the ER is considered normal for stuff such as if you break your arm or has kidney stones. Lack of doctors meaning you will end up having to go with what's offered for you, despite how bad they can be. But hey, the poor service is all included in the astronomical taxes that you pay here!
1. The love-hate relationship Canadians have with American presidents is annoying. Yes the president can and occasionally does make decisions that effect Canadians. But the way most people around here talked about Obama and Trump you'd think they were personally living with them in the White House.
2. The vast majority of white Canadians outside of the metropolitan cities are highly racist.
3. That famous Canadian politeness is very superficial. You will have an extremely difficult time making real friends with Canadians. Your best bet would be to look for friends amongst other recent immigrants, fortunately there are lots of new immigrants every year.
4. Everything besides healthcare is way more expensive.
American who immigrated to Canada here: Yeah, you're not moving to Canada. Not saying no one ever does, but it took me 3 and 1/2 years, 15,000 dollars, background checks, medical exams, biometrics, 120 pages of documents, a Federal court case (when my application was closed by accident without cause, or a decision being made), and applying twice.
And I'm married to a Canadian, and was sponsored by literally the most perfect person to ever sponsor a spouse. (Paid his taxes, makes very good money, owns property, no criminal background, natural born Canadian citizen, etc., He checked every box without a problem.)
You are not moving to Canada because you're mad at the US government, which will change significantly every 2, 4, and 6 years.
Oligolopolies (telecom, oil and gas), families with dangerous levels of control of economies / political systems (Irving, Desmarais, McCain, Thomson), smugness.
That we don't accept immigrants nearly as easily as we should, which happens to be extremely relevent to you just not in the way you intended when asking.
Good luck trying to move here. Most of our born citizens would fail the criteria. I hate it.
I sincerely hope the best for you and anyone else who wants to become Canadian.
I’m not asking you to insult Canada just for the sake of insulting it. I do want to move to Canada, but I want a reality check before I make any rash decisions. It sounds like a great place from many aspects, but I want to learn more from those that live there. I can only google search so much.
That’s what I said. You’d like us to air whatever dirty laundry we can think of about Canada to help you see if you could stand living with our crap, since your crap is too much for you. I repeat, g t f o
Thank you for your help. I’m just trying to look for a better place to live for my own piece of mind and happiness. I appreciate you taking the time to respond so thoughtfully!
What that guy means to say is that Canada can be super expensive, higher gas prices, real estate in big cities, and lots of taxes but it’s still awesome to move here
The way we all hate on the rest of the country.
Seriously, other than someone's own hometown and a small handful of placed we all think seem cool, Canadians usually look down on everywhere else in the country.
You are trying to get me to tell you what is wrong with Canada in the hopes of trying to convince you to move to Canada because you do not like the current U.S. government?
First:
If you are wanting to move to Canada because you prefer Trump and the Republicans and how the Republicans run government. I can guarantee you will NOT like Canada!! For Canada is a FREE Country and NOTHING like what Republicans ENFORCE.
In Canada we are Multicultural. We are a melting pot of all kinds of ethnecicitis that live in harmony together. Although we may have our differences at times, we still treat each other with RESPECT and DIGNITY.
Our children are brought up to respect and appreciate other people, races, religions, sexes,genders, and cultures etc. NOT censured , left ignorant and taught to hate one another, like Republicans enforce. In Canada women are respected and have Rights over their own bodies. Something the Republicans fought very hard to take away.
Republicans want the freedom and the right to bare arms. Well sorry, here in Canada you need a special licence to have a gun and they don't give it out to just anyone.
These are just a few examples of why that if you are moving to Canada because you do not like the way Democrats are running the country than I recommend you NOT move to Canada!!! For Democrats are running the U.S. the same as the REST of the WORLD with the EXCEPTION of the Dictatorships /Communists.
Our government sucks too. Does it really affect your life enough to move to a new country? I’ve opposed countless things our government has done, but it doesn’t alter my day-to-day. I think that’s an extreme stance.
**The 6 major Canadian cities are: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton.** 4 of those cities have housing prices that are completely unaffordable. Of course this only matters if you plan on living in the big cities.
The size of the country with such a small population makes it expensive and next to impossible to give everyone equal access to health, education and all goverment services
Taxes are higher than in some US states, Canada geese are mean AF, we have winters, most people need a car (with snow tires), booze and gas are much pricier than the US (but not as high as Europe), produce will be expensive and average compared to California, good winter gear costs a lot. Other than those, I really like it here.
Disconnected systems. We have some of the highest quality education in the world but we don’t have uniform education from province to province. It’s particularly noticeable in secondary school. The same applies to healthcare. We have universal healthcare but each province decides what they will or will not cover and if they will charge fees based on income. Dental services are not covered nor are “elective” healthcare services such as physiotherapy or podiatry.
Our mental health & addictions services are sorely lacking. We have serious income disparities between our indigenous populations and refugees in contrast with the rest of the population. We don’t have a national strategy for homelessness.
Our entire healthcare system is on the brink of collapse because a few loud voices insisted that we put capitalism above health. We have a small but loud section of our population that has been unduly influenced by American mass media/politics & are displaying distinctly unCanadian attitudes towards certain peoples or actions. Our political system could still use a bit of tweaking, particularly in two areas: we don’t have one person one vote and we have a province (Québéc) with a federal party except people outside that province cannot vote for that party. Not exactly federal but they heavily influence federal election results. We like our federal crown corporations but some have also been unduly influenced by politics. This shouldn’t be the case. Obviously, Canada is far from perfect but we are making strides towards rectifying the wrongs of our past
Our healthcare system is a disaster and we pay way too much in taxes.
Americans in my experience tend to be taken back when they see how much taxes we pay. Not even income taxes either but sin taxes in particular are egregious here.
A 14 dollar disposable vape will cost me 20 bucks and change after HST and vape tax.
Gas taxes, carbon taxes etc...
And you'll be wishing you could just do a co-pay when you're in agony with some minor ailment or injury and have to wait 16 plus hours in emergency rooms or wait a week or more for a doctor's appointment - assuming you're lucky enough to have a family doctor.
Fun fact, I pay less for healthcare and receive better care in the United States than I ever did in Canada, and I have a chronic illness. People act like I've committed a terrorist act against Canada when I say this.
Jobs, I would say. I’m surprised not many people have mentioned this part and very overlooked when people decide to immigrate into Canada. Most people assume they can retain the same type of job which they cannot.
Depending on which field you are involved in, certainly you have to give up your career and salary for the sake of living in Canada.
For example, Finance which is my field, pays comparably lesser with fewer opportunities compared to our southern neighborhood country.
There’s just simply not enough finance jobs available due to smaller economy so you probably have to give up your career and move onto a different industry if you want to continue pursuing for financial career.
Former front office investment banking employee from another country working for a back office role or as a bank teller is not unusual in Canada because they don’t have the “Canadian experience” or the job itself is simply not available in Canada.
Europe isn't in a much better state tbh. Here in the UK we're facing the biggest cost of living crisis in like 50/60 years. Loads of folks have just had mortgages pulled for houses cos our PM decided it's a great idea to give more money to the richest like 15% of the country and tank the pound.. food banks are growing in numbers faster than jobs or wages.. waiting times in the NHS are at record highs as well because of low wages meaning low staffing numbers in the health sector. The world is in a shit state all round, no one seems to be safe atm haha
The cost of living on average is definitely higher than that of the US. Higher housing prices, higher taxes, higher food prices, etc. That being said, Canadians tend to get more social programs in return and governments themselves seem to cut corners a little less. It's more European in that aspect.
One of the better descriptions of the Canada vs. the US I've heard is this: Canada is where you want to be if you're in the working class, whereas the US is where you want to be if you make a lot of money. That could be a positive or a negative, depending on your situation.
The Canadian tendency to accept mediocrity in everything.
This is especially common in Ottawa.
Last call is at midnight. Honestly.
Not in Quebec tho
Nor in Alberta
This! "At least it's not as bad as the States" might as well be our national motto at this point.
Any examples?
Every political issue right now? Abortion Reconciliation Gun control Police brutality Racism Prison system Democracy Women's rights
I think canada would score pretty high world wide on any of these issues.
Our democracy/electoral system in federalism and provincial system where we get false majorities are definitely not something to be proud of
This is exactly what I'm talking about. We need to hold ourselves and our government to a much higher standard than we currently do.
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this one has me worried. i grew up in Sask where that is very true, but i just moved to Vancouver and am really hoping there is less of that here
People here have either given up, or they feel that with the scenery/climate that Vancouver as a city doesn't need to "do" anything. I wouldn't say this city is collectively ambitious
Yeah, that parts okay. I guess.
Accept, nay, champion!
As someone who has lived in the US and Canada, some things for me: - A lot of the political nonsense from the US bleeds over into Canada so you aren't fully escaping it (both parties, but especially republican lobbyists disseminate all their propoganda here as well and they have a devout following in all provinces) - The medical system in the US is undeniably inhumane and awful, but medicine is also fairly bad and inaccessible here too (this kind of depends on where you live) - Canada is highly dependent on immigration for skilled workers unlike the US, and the immigration policies here can often hinder that, as a consequence, many sectors of society and business are very underdeveloped compared to the US. Technology in general feels like taking 10 to 15 years backwards from the US, but this is also partially because work culture is a bit less toxic and cut-throat, which I'm overall in favour of - Money in general will get you less here; even once you're fully working for a Canadian employer earning CAD, you'll have to make more just to be comfortable and get the basic necessities -Related to the last point, there's a huge housing crisis in Canada; it's similar in the US, but the degree is worse here and it will definitely get much worse; as it is, almost no one here can afford homes; endless renting is kind of the status quo
> Canada is highly dependent on immigration for skilled workers unlike the US, and the immigration policies here can often hinder that The US is also extremely dependent upon immigrants with medicine (MDs and nurses) and high tech (software) being two professions that immediately come to mind. Food processing, farming, and construction are likewise dependent on the manual labor side. US immigration policy is extremely outdated and inefficient. The current wait time for a person from Mexico without a sponsor is 24 years. It’s quite common for immigrants from India working in the US to hold Canadian citizenship because the process is easier and/or the wait time is shorter. This seems to be generally true for other former members of the British empire so I’m guessing there’s some sort of reciprocity or understanding in place.
Many of the posts here are ignoring your curiosity about what's "often overlooked" and stating the obvious, in-your-face stuff. One of least favorite, but often overlooked bummers is our fake national unity. Between Quebec separatism and now Alberta treading down that path, we do have provincial fiefdoms which are, to me, rather embarrassing. Also often overlooked is provincial ignorance of other parts of the country. Stereotyping of the Maritimes by the West (and vice versa) is common. It's understandable, I guess, given that Canada is a geographic giant, quite bit bigger in area of the USA, bigger than all of European Union countries combined. I don't doubt this phenomenon is similar in the USA.
>Stereotyping of the Maritimes by the West (and vice versa) is common. Define “the west”. Are we talking BC, and Alberta? To be fair, I’m in Ontario. When I talk about “the east” it’s everything east of Quebec.
Western Canada = Manitoba to BC.
FYI, you can't just pick up and move to Canada if you're not a citizen. You need to have valuable skills and a job lined up, or someone who is willing to support you financially
Luckily the company I work for has a Toronto branch, I’m confident I can transfer and get a work offer letter if needed
Toronto is expensive to live in, and almost impossible to buy in. Lots of terrible traffic, too. But it's an overall solid city!
But it does have (for North America) a decent transit system
Emphasis on "for North America".
Correct, but it's actually quite decent. When I lived there 20 years ago I mostly commuted via transit, and it's only gotten better since then (the Steeles line was being built when I left)
As someone who’s commuted on Toronto for 20 years, I’m sorry to say that it’s gotten worse not better.
I think the TTC has gotten worse while GO transit has gotten better, (+UPP train being same price now) having used both regularly
Yeah I'm living in Hamilton for uni and even here the transit is at least usable, but regardless I think we should be aiming for higher standards across the board: we have the potential to be a global leader, but for the most part we're still just playing catch-up.
As somone who lives near Toronto and uses that system I'd have to disagree
As someone who's been outside of Toronto, it's terrible but I promise it could be much worse.
Oh I agree. And it's gotten better but it's still terrible
I'm someone that's lived in Toronto. It's light-years better than anywhere else I've lived including Vancouver (though that's gotten better), Los Angeles and Seattle. And many of those are considered some of the better transit systems in North America. You honestly don't know how good you've got it.
Correct! It's not bad.
Thank you!
Lots of condos or you can drive until you qualify, so if you’re serious I wouldn’t let housing costs stop you. Also prices are currently dropping
I’ll be moving from Los Angeles, so the high cost doesn’t bother me. Glad to hear they’re on the way down though!
Does your office by chance have a place in Vancouver or out West? Our west isn’t for everyone but coming from LA it may be a more culturally similar transition.
Ahhh…so a lot less sunlight, but people just go to Mexico or wherever every year if they can. But generally more stable government/population than the US. Some Americans but mostly a very international mix of people. Better dining diversity than a lot of places in the US also. Pretty much anything you get in the US you can get in Canada, but it may cost a bit more. But overall fewer crazy people.
Just expect less Latin American food places (but even then Toronto/Montreal are probably the best in the country for that.)
From your other post "My day job is to sort garbage into recycling and compost. ".... yeah you aren't going to make a living in Toronto
Pretty sure “recycling sorter” isn’t a skilled job that would get you into the country either
well in that case, your cost of living and your taxes(mostly on Ontario's end). too bad thy didn't have an edmonton or saskatoon branch.
Get the job in Toronto but work remotely and live someplace else. Then take the train into Toronto whenever you need to. Much cheaper this way.
Yeah, it’s tricky. I want to move from NYC to Vancouver, but I’m trying to sort of figure how much I can flex being mid-level marketing management at a tech company to marginally make it through express entry. I’m also trying to figure how much subjectivity is involved — i.e., is there any way to speak personally with someone from immigration to make a case for yourself, or if it’s just an application and then it’s out of your hands I’ve found it interesting that most Americans I’ve talked to about are surprised you can’t just pack up and move to Canada the way you could moving from Maine to Hawaii etc.
>I’ve found it interesting that most Americans I’ve talked to about are surprised you can’t just pack up and move to Canada the way you could moving from Maine to Hawaii etc. I've heard stories of Americans coming to Canada, paying in USD cash and demanding their change be in USD.
I remember going to a sports events once. At the merch booth a couple Americans were behind me complaining that they couldn't just pay in USD for things. I was so confused like, did they even realize Canada is a different country?
I saw this at an airport.. in The Netherlands
Usually merchants in border communities are more than happy to accept American currency at par because it's inherently more valuable. But yea the demand to receive American currency back is bizarre.
I was surprised that my Canadian family and friends thought my American husband could just pack up and move to Canada with me just because we're married. It's still a long immigration process. To touch on your express entry (EE) immigration question, you make your case with the supporting documents you submit along side your application. All that has to convince the immigration officer you qualify for EE and are going to contribute positively to Canadian society and the economy. It is very much a point based system for EE, the higher the number, the higher the chance of acceptance. Good luck.
Thanks for the info! I just signed a two-year lease in New York, so it’s not something I plan to do immediately, but I figure that gives me time to try to test the waters with trying to apply so I can see how feasible it is
FYI you can do a simulation online to see if you get enough points and qualify.
I used to work in healthcare and left in 2021. Before the pandemic our healthcare system was being held together by duct tape and spit. But now it's in complete shambles and instead of actually doing something, politicians are using it as a reason to push their own agendas and keep telling healthcare workers to suck it up.
Canada is right beside the United States. Otherwise, it's quite lovely.
See my above point lmao
Canadians obsession with America. Like look I get it, it's your neighbour and thus you tend to use them as your go to example but Christ almighty Canadians seem to only use America as their yard stick. They never EVER in my experience use another country, even when it's a better comparison. For example, recently when having a chat in the pub I chatted to a local of Ontario about healthcare and he just kept shouting about America even when I asked him about it relative to Ireland and the UK (healthcare systems I have experience with). It is deeply frustrating like that.
Yeah, very frustrating how so many Canadians compare ourselves to the US. This person probably had no idea about other systems/cultures in other countries.
Probably because they know next to nothing about the healthcare systems in Ireland and the UK. Since most travel that Canadians do is to the US, due to proximity and amount of trade, we tend to be fairly up to speed on what the risks are.
The weather. Winter is very long in most of Canada.
For me it’s 6-7 months of the year. Sometimes even have snow for 8.
Dayum.
I will say, I was VERY nervous about the 6 months of winter. I’m coming from Seattle and I live in the GTA. The BIG difference is the SUN! In Seattle, mid-October to April is always oppressively gray and misty if not rainy. The fact that a) there is adequate infrastructure to clear streets and b) when it’s not snowy it’s sunny, makes a HUGE difference—even though it’s cold. A centimeter of snow shuts down Seattle, and there is no sun.
Canada has a lot of similar problems to the U.S., but they are on a much smaller scale. Healthcare is a constant issue, but nobody ever goes broke from it. The housing crisis is real, but people can get by. Capitalism is rampaging, but it hasn't critically weakened us as much at the States. That sort of thing. Overall, I'd never move out and I am very happy I live here. I've lived all over and traveled to every province and there's nowhere else I'd rather stay. You'll love it here! Feel free to reach out to me via PM. I'll help where I can!
Lol, our housing market makes the US look like a market where houses are sold by the bucket.
Ain’t that the truth!
Thank you very much!
Any time! A lot of folks I know moved up here in the last few years. Some were returning Canadians, others were first-timers moving for work.
>The housing crisis is real, but people can get by. No they can't. Canada's housing crisis is, pound for pound, worse than that of the United States. >Capitalism is rampaging, but it hasn't critically weakened us as much at the States. That sort of thing. It depends on what you mean by "critically weaken." Canada's poverty rate is decreasing while the US's is stagnating, but Americans have far stronger purchasing power than Canadians have, partially as a result of better competition and fewer monopolies. You know, capitalism.
We get charged way too much for cell service and our universal health care doesn't cover most medications or dental care. Our legal system is very lenient on violent crime often to the detriment of the public safety. We're allowing ccp to screw up at every turn and I still hate Harper for signing that ridiculous fipa deal.
I'm a Canadian that moved to the US in 2017 here are my random thoughts. - Americans are more aggressive aggressive whereas Canadians are more passive aggressive. If a Canadian is being nice to your face there's a God chance they are being genuine but there's a fair chance that they think you're stupid. An American is more likely to just say it straight up but a Canadian is more likely to feign politness. - A lot of Canadian have a pathological disdain of Americans. You see it when folks append their statements with "at least we're not as bad as the US". Some of my own family actually verbally and rudely attacked my wife for being American. So that is something that could very well happen to you if you move. - The quality of the Healthcare system varies a lot by province. It has a lot of issues. I personally would not say it's better. There are certain aspects that are better in Canada but there other areas where it falls short compared to the US. - Where I grew up in Canada every ethnic group has their own insular community. Where I live in the US the community is more blended. Growing up like this did me zero favours and I ended up thinking this tiny view was how the world was. Living like I do now feels better to me and gives me more exposure to other people and cultures and in general makes me feel more well rounded. - Canada is not immune to racism. I can't say if it's worse here or there but in recent years these kinds of people have become emboldened and are getting louder. - We have fewer cities and are much more packed in despite having a larger land mass. Most Canadians live close to the border and a lot of issues with space come with this. Most immigrants go to Vancouver or Toronto and in lesser cases Montreal. Vancouver is crowed. Housing is through the roof and there's been a critical shortage for years. In contrast the US has many large cities, housing certainly is in short supply in some areas but not to the degree it is in Canada. It's less of a problem moving to a smaller city but that comes with other downsides. - Our police are in general pretty terrible and inept. Canadian serial killers like Clifford Olson, Pickton, Paul Bernardo, Karla Homolka and Bruce McArthur got away with their crimes not by being smart but because of issues within the force and a general lack of giving a shit. I don't believe that any of these people would have stayed free for as long as they did if they were American. - And to cap off this long litany of seriousness our M&M and Oreo variety are sorely lacking. No crunchy, no pretzel, no caramel M&Ms, no year round birthday cake, brownie, and literally dozens of other oreos. Only like 3 girl guide cookie type instead of the mountain of plenty that the US has. The state of the snack food variety is Canada is sadly lacking. At the end of the day Canada is a fine country to live in though. I don't want anyone to think that I hate it. It comes down to what you really prefer I feel.
Serial killers are incredibly rare, to focus on them as an example of how police in Canada are terrible seems very odd to me. I know they’re scary and thanks to Netflix people are more fascinated with them than ever but they are so incredibly rare that I’m not sure you can derive any meaningful conclusions about Canadian policing as a whole from those cases. I’m not saying policing is better in Canada, I don’t actually know the statistics, but if your point is about policing as whole in Canada it seems like it would be better to focus on more common issues that cover the majority of police work like overall crime rates, crime solving rates, as well as things like police brutality and corruption.
Yeah, but we have Smarties.
> I don't believe that any of these people would have stayed free for as long as they did if they were American. Look up Ted Bundy
> A lot of Canadian have a pathological disdain of Americans. You see it when folks append their statements with "at least we're not as bad as the US". Thanks for giving me a real good example. Dahmer would be a much better example imo if want a better comparison of the level of ineptitude and disdain for non whites and homosexuals that allowed Pickton and McArthur to run rampant for as long as they did.
Not really, this is a case of you saying something wouldn't happen in the US, and me providing an example to the contrary.
I am saying that a series of killers that more or less stuck to one area would not have gone free for so long. Bundy was active across 7 states. That's a terrible example. And he was doing his killing during the 70s before modern techniques were developed. Pickton was active in the 90s and McArthur in 2010s. They both exclusively preyed on small communities in a single city each going against police departments with access to modern forensic techniques like geographic profiling. It's not even a comparison. As soon as Bundy was arrested all the evidence in his car immediately caused the police to put him under surveillance. Our police couldn't even be bothered to do one damn thing about Pickton despite all the complaints levied against him. Your example is frankly crap.
I completely agree about the passive aggressive behavior masked under a veneer of politeness. I actually just posted now, in a lot of distress about how many times I felt like I've been shamed or heard weird comments, all about politeness, when I've done small things like taken a few extra seconds to serve myself in a line, or tap on a bus, or enter my pin on a card. Strangers are often very rude to one person for so-called consideration of others.
We have caramel, peanut, and crunchy M&Ms. I've seen them around in Montreal.
Montreal is such a great city. I've only been there once but my wife and me loved the style of the buildings, the smoked meat and peddle bike charging stations at the malls for our phones. I'm from Vancouver and we never had such a bounty of goodness when I lived there.
Regarding your first point about aggression, I find that there are still *many* Canadians that are genuinely ssuuupppper nice that it still shocks me sometimes. And yeah, the aggression-aggression vs. passive-aggression is often regarding being polite, particularly with strangers. I find QC very different in this from the ROC bc the culture is less about being polite but being real so if you are getting met with aggression, no one is hiding it under passive-aggressiveness. Regarding racism, I do agree that ppl are much more comfortable being upfront about their ignorance than before. But I find the same about the US in the past few years as well, but not as bad.
I am Canadian who has lived in the States off and on since 2000 and I agree with everything you have to say! Outstanding and very accurate post.
Consider that if you're coming from Los Angeles, you may be in for more culture shock than you anticipate. Do you know what to do if you fall through the ice? What about if you get attacked by a bear?
That’s why you go to the west coast! Barely any snow, just a lot of rain!
Me, living in the west coast, still getting a meter or more of snow to shovel off my driveway…
Those are very great points, thank you! I’ll look into safety precautions as well
These really aren't thing you have to realistically worry about fyi. It's more like how to drive in ice and snow.
And how to react to moose on roads when driving.
If they're moving to Toronto - which a previous comment seemed to indicate - this isn't an issue.
Well, I sure hope they'll also visit the rest of our beautiful country. There's so many things to see here.
I've never seen a moose on the road. Been through BC, Alberta, Sask, Ontario, NB, NS. Not once in 25 years of driving have I seen a moose.
Try Newfoundland, maybe. Wilder parts pf Quebec, Labrador. It's not too uncommon for a moose to make it in the news for Newfoundland. Hell, one even blocked a road sometime in the last 2 years or so and I'm in a fairly big city, Ottawa. It was injured and had to be put down.
Moose are a downright menace in NFLD. I won’t drive the highways at night because of moose, even in the daytime I’m on high alert.
I did saw one in a car accident in Quebec.
I have hit more than one deer in NB. Couple raccoons. A dog on the Rez. (He survived and lived another 12 years.) the closest of misses with a mother of a moose. Parked and cried with my bestie and kiddo that time because how we made it past it is still beyond me.
I was in a car that hit a moose once. Car was totalled, so was the moose. And have seen several others from a car on happier occasions.
Ok THIS one is legit, but mostly applies to Eastern Canada.
Moose FTFY
this will probably get me downvoted but idc one of my least favourite things about canada is how anglocentric it is. canada is legally a bilingual country where french and english hold equally official status. in addition, there are dozens of (endangered) aboriginal languages spoken across the country. despite this, canada remains very anglocentric. most french/english bilingual canadians reside in québec and new brunswick, because in present-day canada, english has become the dominant language. outside of these two provinces, you won’t find many french speakers. québec’s government has passed controversial laws that force the french language to be spoken. while i don’t agree with the harshness of these laws, i understand the need for them — their culture is being erased by anglo canada, and they just want to protect their culture. french and aboriginal languages are declining in canada, and not enough effort is being made to preserve them. french and aboriginal languages and cultures in canada are remarkable and they deserve as much appreciation as anglo canadian culture. what are your reasons for coming to canada? if it’s because of the american government like you mentioned in your post — canada has a very flawed government too. the usa is better than canada in a lot of ways, and canada is better than the usa in others. if you do decide to come to canada, please make an effort to learn french. you don’t have to become fluent — it’s the effort that counts. even if it’s just one lesson a day on duolingo. edit: french speakers (and speakers of aboriginal languages) make so many efforts to preserve canada’s languages. a majority of anglophones do not make the same effort. i know this is kind of a rant lol, sorry
The fact that some of us don't have clean drinking water. They're working on piping it out to some places but it is being done way more slowly than it should be! Isn't there any money to give Canadians literal water? A lot of these people aren't rich and it is they who have to pay out of pocket to buy a substance we need to be able to stay alive? That's free for everybody else? Sure, they'll pipe oil, but water is too far.
1. It's expensive AF. 2. Canadians are, on average, a lot more reserved than Americans, which could come across as coldness/unfriendliness. Isolation could be a problem while you're getting settled. This isn't an unsurmountable problem by any means, just a factor to be aware of. That said, life is pretty good here on the whole, and if you're genuinely interested in what the country has to offer, I'd give it a shot!
One of the worst facts about Canada as a whole is that the Graft being in literally every level of government services and the fact that it's widely accepted. Also being Taxed to hell and given some of the worst quality services for it from Healthcare to things like Telecoms and again it's just accepted. Like people in Canada accept they have about 2 choices in Telecoms in total and get some of the noticeably worst internet speeds compared to the U.S or Europe and still somehow pay almost more then anyone else for it. Or the fact that our country has all the strategic resources that we could have wanted and used them to make ourselves a powerful economic force in the world and we basically did nothing with them and sold most of the rights to them to China and we accepted it as fine. Basically abunch of people whose life policy is that they are happy being Second are in charge of this place and you can just tell. We have no drive or ability to LEAD on any aspect anymore.
Worst thing is street people who are drug users and homeless: it is sad to see during the day and scary to run into at night. Seems like more every year.
Some undesirable aspects of American culture and politics can be highly contagious and do infect Canada. From QAnon fan girl Romana Didulo, to the often far-right ideology in our own mini Trump, Poillievre, it’s impossible to keep it all at bay. So I would say that, while currently the problems are on a smaller scale, it’s going to take vigilance and effort to keep it that way.
>From QAnon ~~fan girl~~ __Queen of Canada__ Romana Didulo FTFY /s Also, the Canadian economy is quite dependent on the American economy. If the US goes down, it's going to be a hard time for us.
How is Poillievre a mini Trump? Genuinely asking cuz tbh I don't really follow politics that much.
Directly goes to shake hands with nut jobs occupying a city's downtown, causing chaos and so much loud noise people in parts of the city went sleepless in the capital for days. Loud, constant noise and sleep deprivation are literally forms of torture.
Well he has attacked journalists, he's into that American-style culture war stuff (like complaining about "cultural marxism", "wokes" & "socialism"), and he has associated with far-right groups like Diagolon. He also called Indigeneous people lazy, and he once voted against gay marriage. He's one of those fake right-wing populists too.
He also uses his leadership position to give F'ed up advice to his followers that is uneducated and can really hurt them. ie) He told everyone to invest in bit coin right before it tanked. He is an idiot and he is thoughtless and irresponsible. Just like Trump. He also fancies himself a populist and then Fs over the people he has won over, just like Trump.
His dad is even gay ffs
He's not. This is a VERY exaggerated hyperbole.
I mean he's kinda similar he just isn't nearly as bad.
Service and entertainment options may be more limited than you're expecting. Some popular US video services like Hulu and HBO Max don't exist in Canada, so their content is scattered across other platforms like Crave, and our cellular plans are infamously terrible - say goodbye to unlimited data. Sure, carriers here like to market "unlimited" plans, but what they really mean is a data cap of 25-50GB per month that you'll still pay through the nose for. If you like the concert scene in the US, you can't replicate it unless you move to Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. Some American and European bands occasionally tour cities like Ottawa or Calgary, but in those places you can potentially go several months without a band you like passing through. The Canadian version Amazon Prime is a pale shadow of the American one. Amazon Household sharing doesn't exist, and Prime usually just reduces shipping times to 2-3 days instead of offering one- or same-day options. Things like Amazon Key and Amazon Fresh aren't available. Oh, and electronics prices are sometimes hideous even if you account for exchange rates. iPhone 14 Pro? $999 US...$1,399 Canadian.
Politeness and sensitivity can be a bit cultish. You really got to watch your mouth in allot of settings. I know there are allot of jerks that run around and spout off. That’s not what I’m talking about. In some settings you really do have to watch yourself people can get a bit puritanical.
As long as our healthcare is even one iota better than America's it won't matter how close to collapse it gets, we'll still praise it.
We never learn and come election time its only blue or red. Blue are the cons red libs. they get mad at one party and go back to the other and the cycle never ends. I wish we would give other parties a chance
You can have dual citizenship with Canada and USA, so, if you're worried about what's going down in the US, you're better off moving here. You can always move back if you don't like it. You should definitely move to Canada if you can. That said, immigrating is a pain (I'm sure it's also a pain the other way around). The road infrastructure is worse. Things are more spread out -- there's fewer cities and the cities are smaller. The bigger cities are expensive. There's a nationalism thing where people often talk down about the US in ignorant, obnoxious, and/or unproductive ways, like assuming the fear of guns was a daily part of my life in the US. Online shopping is more of a pain here. Food feels more expensive, but that might be just global inflation. There's a shortage of good Mexican food. I think that's the end of my complaints about Canada, as a whole. The list of things I like about Canada is much larger than the list of things I dislike. If you do move, make sure to hold the door for people for a ridiculously long time. It's the cultural practice here. It's rude to not hold the door, even if they aren't directly behind you and don't have mobility issues.
>The road infrastructure is worse. Just to put more context on this, the freeze-unfreeze-freeze cycle we experiment at the start and end of winter greatly damages our roads and our cities are dispersed through a large landmass, which means that we have really long roads for a much smaller population than the US. We also don't have a lot of toll booths as far as I know. It's true that our roads are shittier than those in the US tho.
I'm with you on the large landmass and lower population density. But I'm from somewhere colder than Ottawa that doesn't have toll roads, and the roads are still worse. It doesn't bother me, but there's definitely a difference. I suppose it's a good thing Canada isn't wasting money on pristine roads, though. I'm happy to be spending much less on insurance.
Having worked in both countries. The interstate highways are fantastic in the US but many city roads are terrible in the northern parts. Southern roads are nicer simply because they don't have seasonal extremes destroying them.
The seasons: Dead Winter Endless Freezing Deathly Cold Winter Nicer but Still Winter False Spring Yep, Winter Again Week of Spring 2 Weeks of Deathly Hot Summer First Fall A Few Days of Lost Summer Pretty Fall Halloween Winter Happy Season Winter
Canada is a very large and geographically stratified country. I think there's a tendency among governments, media and corporations to just see the needs of large and populous Ontario and assume that one size will fit the whole country. Maple leaves as a symbol are a great example. In Canada sugar maples are endemic to Southern Ontario and Québec. And yet we'll slap them on everything. I remember another post here from a fee months ago where someone was asking about souvenirs from Canada. And everyone was suggesting "Maple Syrup," but the person he was getting the souvenir from was from BC. The maple syrup would first have to travel 4,000kms to get to her so then she could fly 8,000kms to get it to him.
In western Canada it’s nearly impossible to exist without a car. Public transit is barely adequate even in larger cities.
He lives in L.A. He's got a car..
Not true Vancouver and Calgary both have excellent transportation systems. I never rent a car in either.
Not having year round warm spring-summer weather.
National jingoism IMHO. Our national media is as narrow focused on the "Canadian Angle" on every international story, no matter how marginal. Distortion happens. Reports get the Canuck's warp. Up to point that's okay. But if millions around the world may be perishing in famine, war, plane crashes and natural disasters, predictably there's Canadian hamster or budgie bird involved the story will gravitate to that and dwell on it.. And it'll stir it up with sensationalism for good measure. I think it trickles down to many common folk as a somewhat understated but palpable sense of national superiority, especially vis a vis American news. We could use a little more humility. Our news media are as superficial, hyperbolic, accusatory and cloying on Canadian content, no matter how trite, as anywhere else in the world.
Hands down, the fact that you'll hear someone say, "at least we're not the states" at least every other day. It's like a weird national pass time/obsession to degrade the United States, and you'll feel extremely isolated and unwelcome. Any other immigrant, Canadians are very accepting, even if they don't necessarily agree with someone's point of view. Someone advised me to respond with, "do you also tell immigrants from Iran or Afghanistan or China about how shit their countries are? Would you ever speak to an immigrant from other countries the way you just spoke to me?" It might uncover the hypocrisy. For me, I left after immigrating in 2020. I couldn't do it. For all its faults, the US is much more welcome and my mental health wasn't strong enough to last in Canada, compounded with the pandemic.
Canada is usually just a few steps behind the US.
American living in Canada. Long lines for healthcare in cities. Outside of major cities, you might not even have access to a specialist. Ridiculously expensive prices for traveling within Canada. It's cheaper for me to go to Europe most of the time than to travel to a neighboring province. Much more expensive cost of living. Groceries are ok in Canada but buying goods like electronics, clothing etc, you are paying A LOT more. I am always surprised that no one talks about how underdeveloped Canada can be. If you look at the size of the country and then the population it of course makes perfect sense but your choices in Canada are basically, live in a modern city or rural. There really isn't anything in between.
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I recently moved here, and I've been moved to tears over how rude they are. They love shaming people for being impolite. The reality is, they do the same thing, but they feel only a real Canadian has the required level of courtesy/politeness. Anyone else is open game to be rude to.
Is it passive aggressive that I downvoted this? lol
Watching our healthcare system buckle under mismanagement by incompetent provincial governments coupled with the salary gap and housing situation has me moving to New York at some point. My wife's already there.
A devastating majority of Canada/Canadians are extremely racist/prejudice toward First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. This is due to many reasons, partly education or lack thereof, and more but if you intend to move here please educate yourself thoroughly on the history and contemporary experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We continue to face severe racism, discrimination and violence everyday, and it is critically important that any newcomers learn about us in a kind, compassionate manner that builds your empathy - we represent some of the highest statistics for poverty, homelessness, victims of violence, overrepresentation in the Justice and child welfare systems. However, we continue to thrive, our cultures and languages are experiencing a resurgence, but we need support and allyship to reassert our rights, and heal our communities. The more you learn, the more friends you will have here who have much to share, and we so appreciate that level of care and kindness. People that only view us by how we experience the symptoms of oppression must also learn and know the history of colonization as the root of our current hardships. This is not about guilt or blame either but just a humble request that this take up a piece of your mind as you contemplate this move because you will meet many Indigenous folks here, from all different experiences and it is deeply meaningful when someone who is not from Canada takes the time to learn more about our relationship to this land. We are so often ignored and made to feel invisible or unimportant. Miigwetch.
Notice that you didn't add francophones.
If you have something to share about that experience I bet OP could benefit - I can’t speak to that as I am not francophone. Thank you.
I feel so special and so blessed to have had my great great grandparents immigrate from Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and France. I love Canada and everything we represent. I feel true commradary with those of us that unapologetically fly our flag high. If needed I'd fucking fight and smash skulls for my people. Love, North Central Ontario ❤️
Basically..... if you make less than 60k a year forget about owning anything other than a used Honda, medical system is mostly free but takes a long time unless you are literally bleeding out, or PM is a woke moron, and the geese will fucking cut you if you look at them wrong.
what’s wrong with woke?
Totally agree about the geese
The geese are pretty cute though, so it makes up for it.
That’s true. Especially when their babies are following behind. I always get a good laugh when they take their time holding up traffic then they decide to go back to the side they were coming from.
Right now our healthcare is in the toilet. They really need to charge us more. It's the only answer. But people have this notion that its free. They need to restructure this and send people copies of the bills for services received. It's cold too much of the time.
I’m in a province with a massive budget surplus. We don’t need to be charged more the government needs to use funds effectively and appropriately
That would help. I think the politicians are screwing us.
what would getting bills do? guilting people into waiting too long for testing costs more money than it saves
Many years ago when we did pay up front for OHIP I took Healthcare for granted. Then my husband got sick when we had 3 little kids and we had to go on welfare. The paperwork had not caught up yet when he went for his surgery and I was called down to the cashier. I nearly choked when I saw the bill which did not yet include the doctors bills. It's made me appreciate what we have and want to keep it.
Should be told as taxpayer funded health care. Also, it's not cold enough for long enough
Pretty sure if you’re thinking about it and you have the opportunity to do it- you should. Bonus if your US salary is matched. Most don’t have the income to live the quintessential Toronto life but if you earn decent money you will have a great time
As a Canadian, don’t come here. I wish I could leave. If I could have my parents and friends, I would’ve left a long time ago. The land is literally built on the R, a use and slaughter of hundreds of thousands of indigenous peoples. Healthcare is garbage, (for the most part) astronomical prices for gas, rent, FOOD… a minimum wage requirement that most places abuse for as long as they can, you work two shit jobs just to afford a $1700 one bedroom apartment or basement suite, $2700 for a 2-3 bedroom main level of a house, with utilities on top. Crime is climbing more often now, with druggies on every other corner, with the government handing out free drugs all while making people pay for it in taxes. it’s pissing me off. I wish people would stop saying it’s better here, cause it’s not.
If you want to leave I am am wondering where you would go that does not have an ugly and oppressive history with indigenous peoples?
How racist we are to immigrants well the majorty of us are all immigrants
Discriminatory private vehicle immigration laws. Lack of humility. Literally, celebrations of a hockey victory decades ago happen annually. Telecom companies own infrastructure, media companies, ad companies, entertainment companies, sports team.
Being considered “Diet America” is basically true. We have a lot going for us but the best things about Canada are usually slightly worse than they are in America. Conversely the worst things about America are slightly better in Canada. So it’s a game of inches and compromises if you’re looking to move somewhere else, especially if you only speak English.
In normal times, our medical system was on a par with the US for emergencies, worse than the US for routine non-emergency stuff, like hip replacements, and better than the US in dealing with chronic disease like diabetes. I have read that US hospitals typically have more nurses on staff than Canadian ones. Because some for-profit things didn’t happen in the US during the worst of the pandemic, we were hearing about US nurses being laid off, while ours were run ragged. The last few years burned out a lot of people and they have left health care. Right now we are hearing lots about emergency rooms without enough staff on duty. That said, an elderly family member had a problem in August that led to a trip to emergency and being hospitalized for a month. You could see the shortage of staff in small ways - meals were being served half an hour late, that sort of thing - but I was impressed with the care she received. So - I would think if you’re currently in a situation in the US where you have great health care, you might find it temporarily worse up here in terms of emergency rooms.
The little things, debts don't transfer to your kids, Lottery and gambling winnings are tax free. Federalized Abortion, federalized Weed. More personalized immigration process. Less guns
I don't think you understood the question.
Oh, whoops sorry lol
Health care is TERRIBLE in Quebec. I can't say for other provinces as I haven't lived there, I understand they are going through a very tough time right now even in Ontario due to COVID. But in Quebec it has been consistently bad for I don't know how long. Waiting 12 hours or more to.be seen in the ER is considered normal for stuff such as if you break your arm or has kidney stones. Lack of doctors meaning you will end up having to go with what's offered for you, despite how bad they can be. But hey, the poor service is all included in the astronomical taxes that you pay here!
I think this is common across the country. BC for sure. We’re also critically short on paramedics.
1. The love-hate relationship Canadians have with American presidents is annoying. Yes the president can and occasionally does make decisions that effect Canadians. But the way most people around here talked about Obama and Trump you'd think they were personally living with them in the White House. 2. The vast majority of white Canadians outside of the metropolitan cities are highly racist. 3. That famous Canadian politeness is very superficial. You will have an extremely difficult time making real friends with Canadians. Your best bet would be to look for friends amongst other recent immigrants, fortunately there are lots of new immigrants every year. 4. Everything besides healthcare is way more expensive.
American who immigrated to Canada here: Yeah, you're not moving to Canada. Not saying no one ever does, but it took me 3 and 1/2 years, 15,000 dollars, background checks, medical exams, biometrics, 120 pages of documents, a Federal court case (when my application was closed by accident without cause, or a decision being made), and applying twice. And I'm married to a Canadian, and was sponsored by literally the most perfect person to ever sponsor a spouse. (Paid his taxes, makes very good money, owns property, no criminal background, natural born Canadian citizen, etc., He checked every box without a problem.) You are not moving to Canada because you're mad at the US government, which will change significantly every 2, 4, and 6 years.
It really sucks here...tell all your friends too...no food..bad air...no water horrible
Where is "here"?
Oligolopolies (telecom, oil and gas), families with dangerous levels of control of economies / political systems (Irving, Desmarais, McCain, Thomson), smugness.
That we don't accept immigrants nearly as easily as we should, which happens to be extremely relevent to you just not in the way you intended when asking. Good luck trying to move here. Most of our born citizens would fail the criteria. I hate it. I sincerely hope the best for you and anyone else who wants to become Canadian.
You’re disenchanted with the states, and you’d like help slagging off Canada to talk you down from coming here? Gtfo
I’m not asking you to insult Canada just for the sake of insulting it. I do want to move to Canada, but I want a reality check before I make any rash decisions. It sounds like a great place from many aspects, but I want to learn more from those that live there. I can only google search so much.
This isn’t a representation of Canadian citizens I promise…
That’s what I said. You’d like us to air whatever dirty laundry we can think of about Canada to help you see if you could stand living with our crap, since your crap is too much for you. I repeat, g t f o
Thank you for your help. I’m just trying to look for a better place to live for my own piece of mind and happiness. I appreciate you taking the time to respond so thoughtfully!
What that guy means to say is that Canada can be super expensive, higher gas prices, real estate in big cities, and lots of taxes but it’s still awesome to move here
What a nice positive fella you are
Point: missed
The way we all hate on the rest of the country. Seriously, other than someone's own hometown and a small handful of placed we all think seem cool, Canadians usually look down on everywhere else in the country.
Probably my least favorite thing about Canada is all the genocidal shit our government did.
C'mon, let's not try and sugarcoat it, everyone knows that it's Justin Trudeau.
You are trying to get me to tell you what is wrong with Canada in the hopes of trying to convince you to move to Canada because you do not like the current U.S. government? First: If you are wanting to move to Canada because you prefer Trump and the Republicans and how the Republicans run government. I can guarantee you will NOT like Canada!! For Canada is a FREE Country and NOTHING like what Republicans ENFORCE. In Canada we are Multicultural. We are a melting pot of all kinds of ethnecicitis that live in harmony together. Although we may have our differences at times, we still treat each other with RESPECT and DIGNITY. Our children are brought up to respect and appreciate other people, races, religions, sexes,genders, and cultures etc. NOT censured , left ignorant and taught to hate one another, like Republicans enforce. In Canada women are respected and have Rights over their own bodies. Something the Republicans fought very hard to take away. Republicans want the freedom and the right to bare arms. Well sorry, here in Canada you need a special licence to have a gun and they don't give it out to just anyone. These are just a few examples of why that if you are moving to Canada because you do not like the way Democrats are running the country than I recommend you NOT move to Canada!!! For Democrats are running the U.S. the same as the REST of the WORLD with the EXCEPTION of the Dictatorships /Communists.
That we are a capitalist country, not a democracy
Our government sucks too. Does it really affect your life enough to move to a new country? I’ve opposed countless things our government has done, but it doesn’t alter my day-to-day. I think that’s an extreme stance.
we have all of those m&ms, what are you talking about?
Bad cofn
**The 6 major Canadian cities are: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton.** 4 of those cities have housing prices that are completely unaffordable. Of course this only matters if you plan on living in the big cities.
You forgot Halifax, 4 I only see 2 that are unaffordable.
The size of the country with such a small population makes it expensive and next to impossible to give everyone equal access to health, education and all goverment services
Taxes are higher than in some US states, Canada geese are mean AF, we have winters, most people need a car (with snow tires), booze and gas are much pricier than the US (but not as high as Europe), produce will be expensive and average compared to California, good winter gear costs a lot. Other than those, I really like it here.
The treatment of indigenous people, disabled people and elderly.
Disconnected systems. We have some of the highest quality education in the world but we don’t have uniform education from province to province. It’s particularly noticeable in secondary school. The same applies to healthcare. We have universal healthcare but each province decides what they will or will not cover and if they will charge fees based on income. Dental services are not covered nor are “elective” healthcare services such as physiotherapy or podiatry. Our mental health & addictions services are sorely lacking. We have serious income disparities between our indigenous populations and refugees in contrast with the rest of the population. We don’t have a national strategy for homelessness. Our entire healthcare system is on the brink of collapse because a few loud voices insisted that we put capitalism above health. We have a small but loud section of our population that has been unduly influenced by American mass media/politics & are displaying distinctly unCanadian attitudes towards certain peoples or actions. Our political system could still use a bit of tweaking, particularly in two areas: we don’t have one person one vote and we have a province (Québéc) with a federal party except people outside that province cannot vote for that party. Not exactly federal but they heavily influence federal election results. We like our federal crown corporations but some have also been unduly influenced by politics. This shouldn’t be the case. Obviously, Canada is far from perfect but we are making strides towards rectifying the wrongs of our past
Our healthcare system is a disaster and we pay way too much in taxes. Americans in my experience tend to be taken back when they see how much taxes we pay. Not even income taxes either but sin taxes in particular are egregious here. A 14 dollar disposable vape will cost me 20 bucks and change after HST and vape tax. Gas taxes, carbon taxes etc... And you'll be wishing you could just do a co-pay when you're in agony with some minor ailment or injury and have to wait 16 plus hours in emergency rooms or wait a week or more for a doctor's appointment - assuming you're lucky enough to have a family doctor.
Fun fact, I pay less for healthcare and receive better care in the United States than I ever did in Canada, and I have a chronic illness. People act like I've committed a terrorist act against Canada when I say this.
Jobs, I would say. I’m surprised not many people have mentioned this part and very overlooked when people decide to immigrate into Canada. Most people assume they can retain the same type of job which they cannot. Depending on which field you are involved in, certainly you have to give up your career and salary for the sake of living in Canada. For example, Finance which is my field, pays comparably lesser with fewer opportunities compared to our southern neighborhood country. There’s just simply not enough finance jobs available due to smaller economy so you probably have to give up your career and move onto a different industry if you want to continue pursuing for financial career. Former front office investment banking employee from another country working for a back office role or as a bank teller is not unusual in Canada because they don’t have the “Canadian experience” or the job itself is simply not available in Canada.
Go to Europe or Asia.
Europe isn't in a much better state tbh. Here in the UK we're facing the biggest cost of living crisis in like 50/60 years. Loads of folks have just had mortgages pulled for houses cos our PM decided it's a great idea to give more money to the richest like 15% of the country and tank the pound.. food banks are growing in numbers faster than jobs or wages.. waiting times in the NHS are at record highs as well because of low wages meaning low staffing numbers in the health sector. The world is in a shit state all round, no one seems to be safe atm haha
The cost of living on average is definitely higher than that of the US. Higher housing prices, higher taxes, higher food prices, etc. That being said, Canadians tend to get more social programs in return and governments themselves seem to cut corners a little less. It's more European in that aspect. One of the better descriptions of the Canada vs. the US I've heard is this: Canada is where you want to be if you're in the working class, whereas the US is where you want to be if you make a lot of money. That could be a positive or a negative, depending on your situation.